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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 1998)
CONTACTING US NEWSROOM: ADDRESS: (541)346-5511 Oregon Daily Emerald E-MAIL P.0.80X3159 ode@oregon. uoregon.edu Eugene, Oregon 97403 ONLINE EDITION: www.uoregon.edu/-ode EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Sarah Kickler EDITORIAL EDITOR Mike Schmiertrach NIGHT EDITOR Carl Yeh Bombing could be destructive and ineffective An attack on Iraq is more likely to kill civilians than stop weapons production or oust Hussein I don’t really remember being cognizant of what exactly was happening during the Persian Gulf War, but 1 re member what I saw on TV. Most ly yellow ribbons, miniature American flags and missiles called Patriots. One of the few concrete memories I have is of a CNN report on the final death toll. The story had an accompa nying graphic, icons that looked bafflingly similar to gingerbread men. Each one represented 100 casualties. This disturbed me, OPINION ]§ although at the | time 1 cnan t know why. I eventually realized the rea son those fig Kameron Cole ures bothered me so much. It was because they had been so easily comprehended by a seventh-grade brain, like it had been produced especially for 12 year olds. The human cost of war had been negated. The existence of real people, soldiers and civil ians, had been reduced to a sharp-looking graphic for the evening news. Since the current Iraqi crisis arose several months ago, the Clinton administration has been working hard to curry public fa vor for what now seems to be an impending military strike. And depending on which poll you be lieve, such support has been forthcoming. It is a testament to the legacy of the Gulf War and its popular support that this newest Iraqi conflict has been tailored to fit into a familiar mold. There is a good guy, a bad guy, and if prece dent holds, the media will even tually declare a winner. To make war, which is absurd and unpleasant, palatable to the American people, it needs to be reduced to this kind of simplici ty. The government learned this lesson the hard way, and now it realizes that some of its most im portant battles are fought in the American media. But the issues involved in the current crisis aren’t simple and require more than flag-waving propaganda. Someone asked me recently: “Aren’t you afraid that if we don’t bomb the hell out of Sad dam Hussein, he’ll become an other Hitler?” Actually, I’m afraid that if we do bomb the hell out of Iraq, it will become anoth er Vietnam. Here’s the truth — the ugly, unedited truth. The only way to stop Iraq, to stop any country from producing weapons of mass destruction, is to annihilate them, to take them off the map. Consider this: It doesn’t take a terribly large amount of space to produce many of the weapons in ques tion. It would be perfectly feasible for Saddam Hussein to set up labs in the most unlikely of places. A non descript cottage can be just as effective a storage facility as i presidential palace. And let’s not forget the questionable wisdom of blowing up chemical weapons. That means set ting them on fire, folks. And since no one knows what Saddam has been cooking up in the past five years, the very real possi bility exists that this could make Hiroshima look like a picnic. It’s true that Saddam Hus sein is a perfect target for the world’s ire. Through his actions, such as gassing Kurds and terror izing his own people when they oppose him, he has pretty much drawn the Hitler parallels him self. But the U.S. shouldn’t sacri fice rational decision-making to a tyrant. The government and the media are presenting the public with a package deal by inextricably link ing opposition to Saddam with support for military strikes. But if military action that endangers the lives of people on both sides of the conflict fails to remove the threat, will this package deal have been worth the price? Kameron Cole is a columnist for the Emerald. Her work appears on al ternate Wednesdays. Her views do not necessarily represent those of the newspaper. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Frohnmayer’s views questionable In response to the article "Frohnmayer asks board to review cases” (ODE Feb. 2), I would like to express two concerns regarding com ments made by President Frohnmayer. The first refers to Frohnmayer’s comment, “but where the accuser has had a prior sexual relationship with the accused, that’s a differ ent story.” (This comment was in reference to the rape-shield policy). I would like to re mind the readers that any time a woman does not consent to sex, it is rape. Frohnmayer’s comment suggests his personal views drift from the view that rape is non-consensual sex. He is quoted “that it is a different story” because the two have had a sexual history. Their past relationship is irrelevant because non-consensual sex is rape. The second concern with Frohnmayer’s comments is his quote, “He [Donta] could be living in the City of Eugene. It would pose no greater threat presumably than any place that he lives.” President Frohnmayer is responsi ble for the University and the safety of the students. If Dont4 lives in Eugene, that is our own safety concern, but students demand President Frohnmayer to respect our safety concerns on campus. I feel President Frohnmayer has reweighed the evidence, as his quotes in the article ex press an opinion in favor of Dont4 Graham Preston. I had hoped for our University presi dent to support the victims and to support the review board’s decision, but I guess I ex pected too much. Edith Webster History Many hungry, homeless 1 am writing in response to the article “Per mission to sleep” (ODE, Feb. 9). It gives me great pride to see the Emerald is paying no tice to one of the biggest problems facing our nation and local communities today. The United States is one of the richest nations of the world, yet 3 million people each night are forced to sleep in cars, shelters and under bridges. Hunger is a way of life for many people around us. In the United States, 27 million people, and one in five children, go to bed hungry every night. These people are not far from our lives because we see them around us every day. Alcoholics, drug addicts and crazy people actually make up less than half of the homeless population, with the most rapid growth among children and women. The hunger and homelessness group at the University chapter of OSPIRG is working to gether this term with several student and vol unteer organizations to fight this growing problem in our community. We have several great projects coming up. To volunteer and to learn more about what you can do to help the hungry and homeless, come by the OSPIRG office in EMU Suite 1 or call 346-4377. Jessica Klausmerer OSPIRG CORRECTIONS The story “UO to honor black history, achievement” (ODE, Feb, 16) should have identified the founder of Black History Month as Carter G. Woodson. The headline “Akili Smith sus pended after drunken driving" (ODE, Feb. 17) should have read “Akili Smith suspended indefinitely after arrest.” Also, the story should have read “Smith, the Ducks’ start ing quarterback, was arrested by Eugene police on Feb. 14 and charged with drunken driving on East 7th Avenue near Pearl Street, the Emerald learned Monday.” In the story “ASUO board revises rules on elections" (ODE, Feb. 13), Taylor Sturges should have been identified as the ASUO elections board publicity coordinator. The Emerald regrets the errors.
